


The Game of Life

by JaydenDSin, orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Albino Dave, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bickering, Blood and Gore, Broken Bones, Car Accidents, Concussions, Explicit Language, Hitchhiking, Homelessness, Minor Character Death, POV First Person, POV Third Person, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Post-Canon, Post-Sburb, Road Trip, Starvation, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-06-08 03:45:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6837820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaydenDSin/pseuds/JaydenDSin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The game’s over. Jade, John, Rose, and all of our counterparts are safe. At least, I’m pretty sure that they are. Everything was supposed to go back to normal.</p><p>So why do I still feel like I’m in a war zone?</p><p>The main character is Dave and after waking up in the new universe, he finds that he’s alone with no way to contact his friends. After being alone for two weeks, he decides that his best option is to make the trip to New York to find Rose and hopefully figure something out. Hell ensues.</p><p>This story is a work in progress. As with most stories that are incomplete, the rating, warnings, tags, and even some details are subject to change, depending on what I write in the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The game’s over. Jade, John, Rose, and all of our counterparts are safe. At least, I’m pretty sure that they are. Everything was supposed to go back to normal.

So why do I still feel like I’m in a war zone?

My name’s David Lee Strider. At least, that’s what my birth certificate says. I didn’t even know I had middle name. Or a birth certificate for that matter. Bro never made it a habit of keeping me informed when he was alive.

I’m currently goin’ through a box that I found in his closet. I’m kinda assuming that it’s his. I’ve only been in this universe for a few weeks and no one’s walked through the front door except for me since I woke up, so I’m just gonna assume that Bro’s as dead in this universe as he was in the game. Which kinda sucks, but it’s also a bit relieving too. I’m gonna leave that thought alone though. That’s more Rose’s territory than it is mine.

I didn’t know that Bro kept so much shit. I mean, why would he? He took me out of school when I was ten, and if I’m to assume that the date on the news channel’s correct, I’ve just turned sixteen. In fact, the game dropped me in this universe right on my birthday. So happy birthday to me, I guess. You could even say that the game gave me a birthday present; when I checked the fridge three weeks ago, the only thing in it was a jug of apple juice with a bow on it. I count myself lucky that the fridge wasn’t booby trapped. In Bro’s house, that’s a thing that would happen sometimes. Not gonna touch that subject either. It’s best not to think about him most of the time, if it can be helped.

Goin’ back to the box, there’s a surprising amount of sentimental bullshit in here. There’s a _lot_ of pictures. I don’t recall Bro ever owning a camera, but these photos are pretty old, so maybe he did at one point. I dunno. They all look like they’re from before I was five. It makes sense. If I try hard enough, I can remember him being a decent person at one point.

I’m getting sidetracked. Either way, this box has proven to be only slightly useful. I need a birth certificate to get government official stuff like an ID, but I’ll be screwed if I can’t find any financial documents. The bills are starting to pile up and I need to pay them if I wanna keep the landlord from coming up here and looking for Bro. Who knows what’ll happen if she finds out he’s been gone for two weeks. I’ll probably end up in foster care.

Then again, with the constant strifing and puppet porn that goes on in this apartment, I highly doubt she’ll care if a sixteen-year-old kid is alone when she comes up to ask for her money.

Maybe I should check pesterchum, sorry, _skype_ , what kind of bullshit name is skype? Either way, I should check it and see if anyone is online. They haven’t been on since I woke up and I’m starting to think that this stupid app doesn’t work anyways, but I’ve got nothing to lose by looking.

Nope. Nada. Of course no one’s online. They’re probably dead anyways. God, I miss my friends. I really wish I could talk to Rose right now. She would have a field day with how my mind looks right now. Okay, stop that sentimental bullshit. Striders don’t do sentimental. Anyways, wishing isn’t gonna get her to sign on and even if it could, she would have signed on when I first woke up. But no one’s signed on. Not even my boyfriend/matesprit/whatever it is that we are. Okay. Enough. I’ve gotta find those records.

…

Not a goddamn thing. The dead bastard kept pictures from when I was five but god forbid he keep actually important information, like, yah know, bank account numbers and social security information. Fuck it. I need a new plan. I’ve been moping around for far too long with nothing to do. The only time I’ve been out of the damn house is to buy groceries with the forty dollars that was on the table and all of that is gone now. I haven’t eaten since yesterday. 

Okay. I’m not gonna be able to get a job. That requires a social security number and the only thing close that I’ve found to that is the birth certificate. I could go to the Social Security office, but who knows what paperwork they’ll ask for and it’s too much of a risk. They’ll probably ask for a guardian and Bro’s gone. It’s just better if I didn’t go.

Okay. Who’s the closest person’s house that I could go to? Not John, god no. He lives in Washington state. Jade lives on an island and Rose lives in New York. Why can’t I be normal and have friends in my area? Hell, the closest person I can think of is Dirk and that’s _if_ he’s even alive in this universe _and_ if he was dropped in Houston. Too many ifs. No, my best bet is Rose, but that’s still in New fucking York. I’ve got no better option though. I’m hungry, alone, without a job, and desperate. Just desperate enough to make the trip. Hopefully, Rose is alive in this universe or I’ve just screwed myself.

God, this is gonna suck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure that the only chapter that I'm gonna write for this story that is in first person is the prologue, The rest will probably be in third person. I just felt like writing it in first person to get as much of Dave's thought process through as possible without it becoming wordy. I haven't written many fan fictions before so please forgive me if it isn't the greatest. Also, I'm really bad at keeping characters in character so if anything seems off, for the love of all that is good, please tell me. I'll fix it almost immediately.
> 
> Feel free to tell me what you think in the comments and if you have any suggestions for future chapters, I'll definitely consider them and credit you if I use them. Criticism is welcome and I'll probably appreciate it. I want to improve this story as much as possible.
> 
> If you would like to tell me something but don't want to comment or just want a faster response, my tumblr username is Vladimeme. You can also send me a PM here on ao3 and I'll respond just as fast.


	2. The Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the official first chapter of this story. Everyone's trying to find everyone else and it's a bit of a fustercluck.

“We’re off to see the wizard! The wonderful wizard of –”

“Jade, please stop. That was only appropriate for when we were picking up Rose and it was only funny the first time.”

“John, you’re just a spoil sport.” Jade pouted in the backseat like a toddler that had their toy taken away. It would have been funny if they weren’t searching for Dave.

“Are you sure that we’re going the right way?” John asked for the fifth time this hour.

“I am the Witch of _SPACE_ , John. If I didn’t know where I was going, you definitely wouldn’t either. I will admit that it’s a lot harder to track Dave down than it was you two, but my domain is still Space and if Dave is alive, I can find him. I just wish that he would stop making time loops, damn it!” Her frustration was clear as day, even in the middle of the night.

“Well Time is his domain and if you can track him, he can make time loops. He’s the Knight of Time. That much isn’t going to change.” Rose added from the front passenger seat.

“Well what has changed is how much he uses his powers. He used them cautiously and very rarely in the game but he’s made over thirty time loops since we started looking for him and it’s only been two days! It’s hurting my brain, trying to find the real one.” Jade whined, flopping down onto Dirk’s sleeping lap.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dave was the farthest away from Rose’s and thus, saved for last. Jade and Jake had just popped themselves right into the Egbert household, effectively giving John the biggest heart attack of his life, a few days after he had woken up. The three of them drove the SUV that was left in the driveway a few towns over and found Jane in a _bakery_ a day later. Who would have guessed a bakery for Jane Crocker? Oh wait. Everyone. Roxy was found on the side of the road, using voids to transport herself to Rose’s house from, god, Nevada, of course she woke up in Las Vegas, a week after finding Jane. It was quite difficult to find her. She kept popping in and out of existence, making her the hardest person to find in the group during the first two weeks. She was a little rough around the edges and quieter than she was in the game, but after sleeping and getting something to eat, she was back to being her happy, obnoxiously loud self.

Halfway to Rose’s house, the poor abused SUV broke down on the side of the road. After having it repaired with the last of the money that John had found in the car’s middle consul, because Jade couldn’t transport all of them for fear of a brain aneurysm from the strain and Roxy could only use the void for herself at the time, the small group made it to Rose’s house three days later with very little gas left in the tank and completely broke. They found Rose with the remaining trolls, Karkat, Kanaya, and Terezi, everyone one of them now _human_ , and that was quite a bit of a shock. Turns out that the trolls woke up in the forest by Rose’s house and she had found them in her front yard being chased by what had to be a two-hundred-pound buck that they had managed to piss off. They refused to talk about it and she didn’t ask.

John and Jade took the SUV, now full of gas thanks to Rose having access to a bank account with a _large _sum of money, up to Massachusetts where they found Dirk’s Houston born and raised ass being frozen off in a café by MIT in a wife beater and cargo shorts. How he had lasted that long without a jacket was a complete mystery but it didn’t seem like he was in the mood to talk so they threw a blanket over him and stuffed him in the backseat with the heater on full blast.__

When they made it back to Rose’s house, everyone was exhausted. Jade had been using her powers for two weeks straight without a break and she assured everyone that Dave hadn’t moved out of Houston in the two weeks that they were scrambling to find each other, so he would probably be fine for another few days while they rested. From the look on Rose’s face and Karkat’s very loud protesting, neither of them liked the idea of leaving Dave by himself for any longer, but John took Jade’s side and everyone else stayed out of it. Dirk stayed silent, but the way he held himself made it quite clear that he wasn’t happy, but Jade needed the rest and Dave was raised to handle himself. A few more days wouldn’t hurt him.

“John! Wake up!” Jade stood above John’s bed, shaking him frantically. He sat up, reaching for his glasses.

“What the hell, Jade? I’m trying to –”

“Shut up, John! Dave’s not in Houston anymore.” Jade growled out. It took a moment for John to process what she had said, but when it did, it hit him like a brick.

“What do you mean he’s not in Houston,” he asked calmly, straightening his back. If Jade was panicking, he would need to stay relaxed to balance her out.

“Well, I mean technically he is, but he’s also not. There’s one version of himself in Houston and another on the border of Louisiana.”

“So there’s two of him now? Dave’s power is time, not cloning.” The confusion was apparent on his face.

“It’s a time loop, John. Jade is picking up on the timelines that Dave has made. Eventually, the Dave that made the time loop will fade and the Dave at the end of the loop will stay, in this case, the one in Houston will fade and the one in Louisiana will continue on, if I’m correct.” Rose leaned against the doorway in a long night gown, rubbing her eyes, obviously having been woken up by the commotion.

“Okay. He’s moving. What’s the problem,” he asked, still confused as to why he was awake at 3:24 am.

“If he makes too many time loops, I won’t be able to find him because it’ll be too hard to track. Also, he’s alone, not in a car, in the middle of the night. Dave’s very good at taking care of himself, probably the best out of all of us, but he’s not invincible. Making a trip, assuming he is going to New York, from Houston is ridiculous. It’ll take him two or three weeks to make it here and who knows what condition he’ll be in when he gets here, _if_ he gets here. We need to leave now.” By the end of the small rant, Dirk was also standing at the door, already dressed and ready to go.

“So when are we leaving, Harley,” he asked, adjusting his backpack.

“As soon as John can get his fat ass out of bed and in the car.” Jade replied, walking past him to assumedly get dressed and ready to go.

That night and the day that followed, Dave made five more time loops. It was a little worrying, considering how cautious he usually was with his powers, but it was nothing compared to that night.

“What do you mean he’s made thirty time loops?!” John yelled, his calm facade long gone.

“I mean that he’s made thirty fucking time loops! What don’t you get about that, fuck ass?! You act like I’m making him make time loops. I’m only the messenger.” Jade snarled back, not having any of John’s shit. Rose and Dirk sat quietly beside the bickering siblings. They were back on the road again, Rose sitting in the front passenger seat, Dirk sitting behind her, and Jade to his left, with John driving. There were three empty seats behind Jade and Dirk and the trunk was behind that. It was a big car. Rose and John had been switching off on driving, Jade needing to stay focused in order to pinpoint Dave and Dirk had never seen a working car before, having no need for one considering he’s been isolated his entire life, so he wasn’t getting behind the wheel.

“Can you please quiet down. I know you’re worried about him, but there’s nothing we can do except keep driving. We’re almost there anyways. You said he’s in Alabama, correct?” Rose asked, her voice on the sharp side but still trying to stay calm. The tension was too high in the car already for her to be adding to it. Jade nodded, settling down in her seat. John focused back on driving and everything was quiet.

“… Are you sure we’re going the right way?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter or didn't like this chapter or you just have something to say about it, feel free to comment or send me a pm. If you have a tumblr, feel free to send me an ask on vladimeme.tumblr.com. Thank you!
> 
> 5/27/16: I've edited this chapter slightly to make it fit better with the next chapter. The timeline is giving me a hard time, what with trying to keep it realistic.


	3. Screeching Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave's had a no good, very bad day and it gets described with a fair amount of detail. I don't know if the decisions made in this chapter are OOC, but I had fun writing it anyways.
> 
> This chapter has a trigger warning for the following: minor character death, car wrecks, rape (attempted), blood, and gore. Please proceed with caution.

Today was a crap day, if Dave was going to compare it to the past few weeks. He woke up under an overpass in a small town by Baton Rouge after rolling into the ditch in his sleep, completely soaking him, his phone, and his backpack because he had his arm wrapped in the strap when he took his little tumble. There went his clean clothes, the birth certificate, the few pictures he decided to actually keep, and his “well loved” music player. It might have been alright if there wasn’t a massive crack down the middle for the little water that got to it to get in. Luckily, the map that he was using was laminated so that was the one thing that was alright.

Unluckily, he hadn’t eaten more than a meal in four days so even if he wanted to, he couldn’t go back in time. It would drive him to the point of exhaustion, not that he wasn’t already there, and he’d also had to travel back and stop time in order to steal that one meal and the jacket he was wearing. He didn’t feel great about that, but it was food that wouldn’t be missed, he made sure. There had been a few _incidents_ where he had gotten too tired and he couldn’t keep up the time stop, landing him into a scuffle when he was caught trying to get that jacket. That had been a massive pain, but a few time loops later and he made it out alright.

Still, it was the end of December and if he didn’t get warm, he would get sick instead. He couldn’t go into a coffee shop; they don’t take all that well to homeless people, even if he wasn’t technically homeless until January, but that was beside the point. No restaurant, even McDonalds, would want a half-starved albino kid covered in muddy water waltzing in. The best thing he could do was try to hitchhike. It took a few hours before someone decided to pick him up while on the Louisiana/Mississippi border; by then it was two in the afternoon. That ride had ended with a decent meal, a ride to the middle of Alabama, and a concussion.

“Payment? I told you when I got in the truck that I didn’t have anything to give, dude.” Dave could see where this was going before he even finished the sentence. Like really, the dude was staring at his crotch. It wasn’t hard to understand what he was asking for. Problem was, Dave was _so_ not doing that. Firstly, the dude was a lot older than him, and he had aged like milk. Secondly, he has a partner. If he fucked a dude for a ride, not only would he not be able to look Karkat in the eye again, he wouldn’t be able to look in the mirror for a long while without being eaten with guilt. So how was he going to get out of this? Even after eating, he still didn’t have the energy for a time loop or a time stop. He was weak, didn’t have a sylladex because this universe decided that it didn’t like easy storage, didn’t even have a knife, let alone his sword. No phone, no weapon, and on a deserted road with the closest stop probably being three miles away, but he didn’t have three miles before this guy tried to collect on his payment. He had, at most, a minute before he stopped the truck and he didn’t look like he would take no for an answer.

They were surrounded by forest. If this nut could use the isolation to his advantage, so could Dave. He elbowed the driver in the nose, the crunch making it obvious that he had broken something. While he was distracted, Dave grabbed the steering wheel and _jerked_ , heading them towards the trees. He braced for impact and after that, everything stopped for just a moment.

Then, the world around him exploded with sound. The wind-shield shattered, cutting up Dave’s arms when he covered his face on instinct. The steel hood of the truck crumpled from the force of the tree going through the front left side of the truck, crushing the driver’s legs in. Dave’s seat belt saved him from going through the windshield but the force at which he was pushed forward left bruises. When the airbag deployed, it forced his arms onto his forehead, snapping his head back and knocking his aviators off.

When everything stopped, all Dave could hear was a high pitched squeal. He looked around, everything suddenly a lot brighter than he was used to, even without the sunglasses on. The driver was unconscious, his head having hit the steering wheel because he wasn’t wearing his seat belt at the time, his legs trapped under steel and the wheel lodged under his ribs. It was a gruesome sight and if he wasn’t dead, he would be soon. Being in the middle of the forest with no phone and the closest rest stop being three miles away, he would probably bleed out.

Dave couldn’t see himself but he felt like absolute hell. The airbag had pushed the glass into his arms when it hit them and he had just about the worst headache he had ever had in his entire life. He could feel blood dripping from the right side of his head. The high pitched squeal had upgraded to a straight out scream and. Oh wait. That was him. He was screaming and shaking and suddenly, everything was sharp. Anxiety flooded his system and his only thought was to get away from the glass, the metal, the blood, the everything. He needed to get away and _now_. With shaking hands, he struggled to grab the door handle but eventually yanked it open, stumbling out of the mess with his backpack hanging from his fist. Everything was quiet, the crickets and cicadas acting as background music but all Dave could hear was the blood rushing in his ears.

Even while being the Knight of Time, he had no idea how long it took to get to the gas station. Or how many times he had retched on the side of the road for that matter. It was the first building he could see and from the looks of it, it was a small town. The few cars that drove by him made Dave flinch, the sound and sight of it causing panic. Dave didn’t notice when the car next to him stopped for the few seconds that it took to run past, accelerating again when it was behind him. In fact, everything around him stopped every few seconds, like a kid playing with a light switch. Just for a few seconds at a time, but they did.

When he finally settled underneath the dumpster’s lid, probably courtesy of another person having taken shelter there recently, he let himself have the panic attack that had been building. He just let everything go. The fear, the guilt, and emotions that even _he_ didn't understand. Everything that had been crawling just beneath his skin while he made the three mile walk to the gas station. He let it all out, and for the first time in years, he cried for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, look at that. I actually wrote a chapter more than 1k words long. That's a shock. I honestly don't know if Dave's actions in this chapter were OOC, and yes, what he did probably wasn't the smartest idea, but I don't think I'll be rewriting the chapter unless given a good reason because I actually like how this turned out. Also, don't try to make logic out of the timeline. I've tried to keep it semi realistic, but just take it with a grain of salt.
> 
> Feel free to tell me your thoughts in the comment section. If you would rather message me personally, my tumblr, vladimeme.tumblr.com, is probably the best place to do it. I check that thing almost constantly. Either way, thanks for taking the time to read this, and I'll probably be posting an update in around a week.


End file.
